2006

A generation ago, Atlanta was just another city with Southern accents, big ambitions and a busy airport. Suddenly, we’ve morphed into something else — though we’re not quite sure what it is.

We’re a metropolis that sprawls into the North Georgia mountains. We’re an urban Oz with high-rise condos and Manhattan-style sophistication. We’re a consumer testing ground for national marketers, as well as a fountainhead for homegrown trends that often sweep the nation.

So, for this year’s Best of Atlanta issue, the Creative Loafing staff scoured hip-hop studios and country bars, hipster scenes and family pastimes, Korean barbecue joints and country barbecue joints, raunchy nightclubs and fancy day spas … all in search of the real Atlanta.